Bowling device



Dec. 2, 1969 F. sANToRA 3,481,601

BOWLING DEVICE Filed Sept. 9, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INvzNToe Hank Soud'or' ATTORNEYS Dec. 2, 1969 F. sANToRA 3,481,601

BOWLING DEVICE Filed Sept. 9, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hmmm/MW United States Patent O 3,481,601 BOWLING DEVICE Frank Santora, 2301 N. Grant Ave., Wilmington, Del. 19806 Filed Sept. 9, 1966, Ser. No. 578,214 Int. Cl. A63d 5/02 U.S. Cl. 273-54 3 'Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bowling .device is disclosed which includes a pair of spaced rails for providing a trackway for a bowling ball. Handles on the rear portion of the rails permit the trackway to be raised for the purpose of launching the ball. A

receptacle provided by a reverse curve at the rear portion of the rails permits the bowling ball to be held prior to release and permits improved control over the speed of the ball.

This invention relates to an apparatus for use in the Sport of bowling and, more particularly, to a device for facilitating the accurate projecting of a bowling ball down the bowling alley. This invention also pertains to a device useful to the beginner and the accomplished or pro- 2 ing such ability in coordination, the sport of bowling can 3 be somewhat uninteresting. For those who are expert bowlers, there is always a dream of rolling a perfect game.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for use in bowling which apparatus facilitates the accurate projection of a bowling ball down the bowling alley. Another purpose of this invention is to provide a bowling aid which will allow relatively uncoordinated persons to participate in the sport. An additional goal of this invention is to provide a bowling aid which will improve the chances of bowlers for rolling successive Strikes\ with a minimal amount of practice. A still further aim of this invention is the provision of .a portable, lightweight apparatus which may be used by bowlers using bowling balls suitably weighted, for example, to roll in a hook, if desired. These and other objectives, all of which Vtend to increase the popularity of bowling, will be noted in the following discussion.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention the bowling aid is constructed to have a pair of spaced rails disposed in an approximate parallel configuration defining a trackway for the bowling ball. Spacers separate the rails by a predetermined distance. One of the spacers is ixedly positioned at the upper end and on the upper side of the rails for the purpose of providing a ball stop and by permitting the spacer to extend to the outside of the rails provides handles for the user to lift and aim the trackway. By dividing each of the rails into sections and hinging the sections on the lower part of the rails, the

trackway may be folded for convenience in transporting or storing the device. Additionally, by flaring out the upper end of each of the rails a receptacle for holding the bowling ball prior to its release is provided. This receptacle preferably is formed by curving or rounding the spacer at the upper end of the rails to the approximate shape of the ball.

In going from the top to the bottom of the device, the

3,481,601 Patented Dec. 2, 1969 lCC rails are arranged so that they taper toward each other. That is, the distance between the rails at the exit end of the device is slightly less than the distance between the rails at the top of the device just following the said flared section. At the exit end a sight or aiming device is provided to allow the bowler to cause the ball to exit precisely into the alley at the point he desires.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and method of operation, as well as additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, all of which is given for illustrative purposes only and, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a pictorial view of a person utilizing the device of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation view of the bowling of this invention in two positions of use showing a bowling ball in various stages of operation;

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the bowling device of this invention showing the bowling ball in a modified rest position;

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the bowling device of this invention in a folded position for carrying or storage when not in use;

FIGURE 5 is a detail of an alternate raising means; and

FIGURE 6, taken on line 6 6 of FIGURE 3, shows inserts which may be used in hollow rails at their exit ends.

In the drawings including FIGURES 1, 2, and 3 there is seen a bowling device which comprises a pair of guide rails 10 and 12 respectively. The guide rails preferably are formed from a tubular material for lightness and strength, but they may be solid. A suitable material for this purpose is aluminum tubing. Other suitable materials such .as wood and the various plastics may be employed as desired, but aluminum tubing is preferred.

Each of the rails 10 and 12 is cut at its mid-section so each comprises two sections 10a and 10b and 12a and 12b, respectively. The upper and lower sections, in the drawing the a sections and b sections, respectively, of the rails 10 and 12 are joined together at each end by spacers 16 and 18 at the center and by spacers 20 and 22 at the bottom and top of the device, respectively. Each of the spacers 16, 18, 20, and 22 may comprise light metal tubing made of yaluminum and may be either bolted, screwed, riveted or welded tothe rails 10 and 12. The lower support 20 is secured to the lower portion of the rails 10 and 12 as are the metal spacers 16 and 18, respectively. The lower spacer 20 also extends beyond the rails 10 and 12 and on either end thereof are placed rubber or plastic end caps 24 by a friction lit to permit the trackway to rest upon the floor 26 of the bowling alley without damaging the wood. The extension of spacer 20 is not essential, for this spacer -may be constructed to span only the distance between runways 10 and 12. Further, caps 24 can be replaced by rubber or other cushioning material, not shown for convenience, which may be placed on the underneath side of spacer 20. Such cushioning can also be placed on the underneath sides of runways 10 and 12 directly at the exit end as is shown by element 11a in FIGURE 6. A small, usually straight, piece of metal 28 is attached Ias by bolting or welding to the center portion of the lower spacer 20 to afford a sighting device for the operator 30 to use in aligning the trackway with the bowling boards or with spots 32 in the floor 26.

The metal spacers 16 and 18 and the upper and lower sections of the tracks 10 and 12 can be securely folded together by means of hinges 34 attached to the spacers 16 and 18. Preferably two hinges are employed, each 3 mounted under and lying parallel to its respective rails.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the upper end of the upper section of the rails a and 12a is bent as at 36 downwardly and as shown best in FIGURE 3, the upper ends are flared outwardly as at 38. The upper spacer 22 may be bent backwardly to extend just beyond the dared ends 38 to form a. curved or rounded portion 39 approximating the curvature of the ball 40. The flared sections cooperatively form with the upper spacer 22 a. retaining means for ball 40. This acts as a receptacle for holding the ball prior to its release. The ball 40, as is clearly seen in FIGURE 2, rests in the triangular-curved receptacle formed by the members 10a and 12a and the cross member 22. The tapering is such that the greater distance between the tapering ends within the triangular area is about 7 inches for a 9 inch ball and the radius of curvature of the rounded portion approximately 4 inches. The ends of the cross or spacer member 22 extend beyond the outwardly extending portions 38 so as to permit the operator 30 to grasp the handles. The ends of the support member 22 are capped as with rubber end caps 42. A pair of legs 44 are secured as by welding to the lower part of the cross member 22 on the outside of each of the rails 10a, 12a, suitably covered at their ends by rubber or other suitable material, end caps 48.

An alternate receptacle and lifting7 means is shown in FIGURE 5. There the cross or spacer member is straight (not curved) and is in the form of an inverted U-shaped element 22a in which the legs of the U act as the legs of the device comparable to legs 44. Here again end caps 48 may be used. The bar of the U and the flared ends of rails 10 and 12 afford a variety of gripping means. As shown in FIGURE 3, the user may grip the device with two hands using gripping areas C and D, and if a one hand grip is desired, he may grip it at G allowing the ball to rest against his hand or a spacer bar 22b may be placed parallel to bar 22 and just ahead of it to hold ball 40 and afford a clearance for the gripping hand.

The advantage of the rounded receptacle shown in FIG. 3 lies in the fact that the ball is closer to the user. This permits the trackway to be more readily aligned with the alley and reduces its length requirements. If desired, however, the flared ends 38 of the rails 10 and 12 may be extended beyond the spacer 22a (FIG. 5) to permit the user to grip the device with two hands as at E.

For purposes of storage the trackway is simply folded in half at the hinges 34 so as to attain the more compact configuration as illustrated in FIGURE 4. When opened out to the position seen in FIGURES l and 2, the device is ready for utilization by the operator. The ball 40 is initially placed in the ball receptacle as described and is seen in the lower portion of FIGURE 2. The operator then grasps the ends of the upper support member 22 in his hands and lifts the device. By sighting along the aiming device 28, the operator aligns the trackway to the desired location with respect to the bowling alley and lifts the device. The ball remains in the triangular receptacle until such time as the outwardly extending members 38 are tilted sufficiently to permit the ball to roll over the bend 36 and down the trackway. This is seen in the dotted portion of FIGURE 2 which shows ball 40 being projected down the trackway toward the pins. The particular height above the alley at which the ball is released is controlled by the amount or degree the upper ends of the rails 10 and 12 are flared and the degree of bend at 36. The degree of flare and bend may be varied according to the weight of the ball and the amount of hook desired if a weighted ball is used.

With this particular device very great accuracy has been attained in bowling even by the relatively unskilled. Even skilled bowlers who had a suitable knowledge of aiming have achieved many successive strikes. For example, one skilled bowler bowled 26 consecutive strikes using the device of this invention.

In a preferred embodiment of this invention the distance A between the tracks, see FIGURE 3, is about 3 inches and, as mentioned above, this distance is not maintained going downwardly for the preferred distance at the exit end, B, is about 2% inches. In effect, the ball 40 is being lifted out of the runway as it progresses downwardly, picking up more speed and being held out of Contact with sight 28 and floor 26 just prior to hitting the floor beyond the very end of the device.

Since it is preferred to use tubing for runways 10 and 12 and since ball 40 comes down the ramps very rapidly and forcibly into curved section 50, inserts 11 shown in FIGURE 6 are used. These inserts are convenient plugs made of any suitable materials such as metal or wood that are force-fitted into the ends of the tubing such as that of 10a shown in the figure. If desired, a cushion 11a may be fixed to the underneath part of the tubing at the exit end.

There has thus been described an improved sports apparatus which when used in the sport of bowling greatly enhances the score of the user and permits very precise aiming of the ball to be achieved.

While the invention has been disclosed herein in connection with certain embodiments and certain structural and procedural details, it is clear that changes, modifications or equivalents can be used by those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. Sports apparatus for use in projecting a bowling ball down a bowling alley toward bowling pins comprising, in combination:

a pair of spaced rails which are disposed in substantially parallel conliguration and which define a trackway for said bowling ball,

a spacer separating said rails by a predetermined distance less than the diameter of said bowling ball,

at one end of said rails a ball receptacle and gripping means for raising said device at said receptace end,

said 4ball receptacle including a length of said rails less than twice the diameter of said ball,

at the exit end of said device a slight upward curve affording means for projecting said ball in a direction substantially parallel with the alley,

an exit spacer fixedly positioned at said exit end and adapted to support said exit end upon the surface of said bowling alley, and

a sighting device mounted on said exit spacer between said rails at said exit end.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said rails taper slightly toward each other in approaching said exit end, thereby preventing contact of the ball with the alley until it has left said device and also improving the accuracy of said device.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said rails at and immediately beyond said receptacle are about 3 inches apart and at said exit end are about 2% inches apart for use with a 9 inch diameter ball.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,262,579 4/1918 Coin 273-38 X 2,490,288 12/1949 Wickersharn I 273-38 3,083,967 4/1963 Steel 273-54 3,159,401 12/1964 Ikenberry 273-54 FOREIGN PATENTS 13,559 1912 Great Britain. 244,077 3/ 1947 Switzerland.

ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 273- 

